Amo Statement on National Defense Authorization Act

 

WASHINGTON, DC – Today, Congressman Gabe Amo (RI-01) released the following statement on the National Defense Authorization Act:

 

“The National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) is one of the most important annual bills that Congress works on — with a 60-plus year tradition of bipartisan passage given its importance to our servicemembers and national defense,” said Congressman Gabe Amo. “In this year's version, I was encouraged to see consensus provisions that will benefit Rhode Islanders and those serving our nation —a 14.5% pay raise for junior enlisted servicemembers, a 4.5% raise for all others who serve, authorization for a second Virginia-class submarine, a Special Envoy to Sudan, and a greater focus on our regional security agreements. Unfortunately, Speaker Mike Johnson decided to detonate a bipartisan bill by inserting an extreme, partisan culture war provision at the 11th hour that I cannot support. 

 

“It is unconscionable that Republicans allowed the hijacking of a bill intended to keep our country safe,” continued Congressman Amo. “It will negatively impact the families of our servicemembers. This is dangerous for our national security, which is why I agree with both House Armed Services Committee Chairman Mike Rogers (R-AL) and Ranking Member Adam Smith (D-WA) that these provisions have no place in this bill. I voted no because we should have a real bipartisan process that supports our troops and their families, strengthens our national security, and does not target any community. We have to do better.”

 

Ukraine's president says it would be "very difficult" for his country to survive without U.S. military support. Zelensky told NBC's Meet the Press he doesn't want to think about it, but Ukraine would have a "low chance" of survival without the U.S. President Trump spoke with Zelensky and Russian President Putin this week as he pushes to end the nearly three-year-long Russia-Ukraine war.        President Trump is looking to end COVID-19 vaccine mandates in schools. He signed an executive order Friday that will bar schools that still have mandates from receiving federal funds. Trump had promised to withhold funding from schools that had vaccine or mask mandates during his campaign.        A federal judge is temporarily halting the mass firings at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. The court order comes after several groups sued the agency and its acting director earlier this week. The judge said CFPB employees can't be terminated without cause.        Pope Francis is in the hospital. The 88-year-old Pontiff was admitted to a hospital in Rome this morning for what the Vatican said was treatment for bronchitis and diagnostic testing. Today's development is just the latest in a years-long string of concerns over the health of the leader of the world's one-point-three billion Catholics.        A Missouri man is taking a plea deal after shooting a Black teenager in the head when he mistakenly went to the wrong house. Ralph Yarl, who was 16 at the time, was picking up his brothers when he accidentally went to Andrew Lester's house in 2023. Lester was facing multiple charges and initially maintained his innocence, but on Friday he struck a deal and pled guilty to second-degree assault.        The jury in ASAP Rocky's assault trial will begin deliberations next week. The Los Angeles jury received the case late Friday. The rapper's been charged with two counts of assault with a semiautomatic firearm in connection with a 2021 shooting.